Free Denial by Ember Chase Page B

counter.”
    “Can’t you just put them in the microwave?”
    “Absolutely not.”
    “I guess I should be grateful to even smell them at this point. I haven’t had anything remotely resembling dessert for over a month.”
    “I thought you said you didn’t want to talk about him.”
    Rolling my eyes because he won’t do anything about it, I playfully smack his knee as he laughs at me. Somewhere in the middle of the show he yawns dramatically, stretching his arms up above his head and nonchalantly wrapping one of them around my shoulders. We banter back and forth about how cheesy that was, but I scoot closer. This is a little too much fun, not how I thought tonight would go at all. I push away my apprehension about what tomorrow will bring as I nuzzle my face against his pec and he kisses the top of my head.

 
     
     
     
     
    8
    Something loud on the television must have woken me up. Maya is sound asleep with her head still on my thigh. I thought I was having going to have a heart attack when she did that.
    They told me she was going to be impossible and I can tell that they’re right, but there’s no way this is going to be a waste of my time. I laughed so much tonight my cheeks still hurt. I doubt she’ll make it through the day tomorrow, but hopefully she won’t be so scared of me that she doesn’t want to try.
    She breathes loudly as she shifts, her little hand curling up on my knee. That position doesn’t look comfortable but I don’t want to wake her up. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to carry her to bed. I lean her upwards and slowly pull her into my lap, doing my best to avoid my raging erection in case she wakes up during the process. She doesn’t.
    In the hallway she makes this squeaky little moan and wraps her arms around my neck. What the hell am I thinking? This is so out of line and it isn’t fair to give her false hope that she’s going to have a good time here. Not with me.
    She’s in bed, tucked in looking far more peaceful that she should be. I’ve done what I was supposed to do and I should get the hell out of here, but I can’t make myself take a single step towards that door. Or pry my eyes off of her. Would it be so wrong to climb in next to her right now? She actually seemed a little disappointed that we had separate rooms, but maybe I was reading too much into that. It seems to be a theme for me tonight.
    It’s not like I want to hurt her or grope her. I’m just so sick of sleeping alone. It’s going to be extremely awkward if she wakes up right now, but it’s worth the risk. Making sure the bed moves as little as possible, I climb in beside her, but now that I’m here my heart is beating so fast it’s probably loud enough to wake her up. Well, that fucking backfired. There’s no way I’m going to be able to fall asleep.
    Maybe turning my back to her would help, because staring at her is definitely making it harder in more ways than one. How am I going to do what I need to do when we wake up? I should probably send her away, but the idea of it makes me sick to my stomach. If she goes with somebody else, they are seriously going to fuck her up. I don’t think she quite understands what she’s involved with.
    She shifts behind me and I struggle not to flip over to see how she’s laying now. By the sound of her breathing she’s still asleep, but her hand lands on the back of my neck , her fingers stroking my hair. It’s so hard to breathe when she touches me. Or says my name. There’s no fucking way I’m not going to be able to do this now. What the fuck was I thinking?
    It’s so soothing to get touched like this. Such a simple act, just one point of contact, but right now it’s the whole world. I have to keep myself from getting attached, it’s just going to make it worse for both of us. Her fingers are so soft, moving slower as her breaths get deeper and farther apart. My eyelids are heavy. It feels so good.
    Holy shit it’s hot. And really bright. My heart races when